Semi-scarce dates - Are they the worst values in numismatics?

291fifth

I've always found that the sellers want a premium for these when selling, but want to buy them as common dates.

Darkmane

Perhaps you're right... The ones with seemingly normal mintages that are just never available.

With the internet, so many places to consign, and lovely BST forums, you have lots of options to avoid that problem now.

RYK

We discussed this in relation to unusual date gold previously. Better dates in series that are not wildly popular are no-man's land in numismatics.

ziggy29

Depends on the series. In a popular series there's enough of a demand for a premium. For less popular series (coronet quarter eagles?), some scarcer dates sell for type coin money.

Usually it all comes down to how much pressure there is from date collectors for that specific date.

Longacre

Very interesting question. Semi-scarce dates will always be that-- in a sort of interim status of not being really rare to command a premium.

ttown

I'd say there a better bet in a series that is collected by at least a year set. Bust Half dollars come to mind here. If most collectors are collecting the series as a "type" coin then more than likely they'll just buy a common date IMO in most cases.

fc

i reread those old threads. funny how i am still around
collecting the same half eagles that always interested me.

I am quite pleased that I wisely choose an area that few
people are interested in.. the liberty design on the half eagle
pleases my eye the most, out of the 2.5, 5, 10, 20 gold pieces.

for less then 500-1000 bucks i can own coins where there is
only a few hundred left in ALL grades.

for those who think it is too expensive, i would probably laugh
at where you spend your money. ;-) get rid of cable tv to start
and start drinking the free coffee at work, or at least get a cheap
cup of joe :-) Do you spend 5-20 bucks a day for lunch?

lets face it, uncle scrooge took years to become rich by saving..
i cant wait until i have my money bin full of gold half eagles muaahahah

;-)

so, collect what you like. semi-scarce gold dates are a lot of fun.
they trade in a much smaller price range/area... and do sell
for an ok premium IF the coin is nice looking for its grade and
you allow some time to pass (gold is only going up it seems).

someone also mentioned that "worst value" sure sounds like
investment chatter in a thread...

fc

But semi-keys in sleepy series (especially series where a "complete set" is almost impossible) are not likely to become much more than type coins in the market.

yawn. i guess the people who wish to impulse shop and hop on the band wagon
of coin collecting, would find collecting half eagles over a few decades to be
almost impossible...

collecting a sleepy series is tough because it is HARD. pick a real challenge..

or collect wheaties knowing you have plenty to choose from and can spend
away freely on millions of examples.

rhedden

I am quite pleased that I wisely choose an area that few
people are interested in.. the liberty design on the half eagle
pleases my eye the most, out of the 2.5, 5, 10, 20 gold pieces.

for less then 500-1000 bucks i can own coins where there is
only a few hundred left in ALL grades.



I share this philosophy. Scarce date Liberty gold (especially P, O or S mint) is undervalued and more people WILL eventually start collecting them. C, D, and CC mint pieces are already popular and strongly priced (but worth it). When you consider how popular some other series are, driving the prices through the roof even for common dates, one can see what a bargain Liberty gold is. Undervalued areas of numismatics usually do not stay that way for long.

ttown

<< <i>But semi-keys in sleepy series (especially series where a "complete set" is almost impossible) are not likely to become much more than type coins in the market.

yawn. i guess the people who wish to impulse shop and hop on the band wagon
of coin collecting, would find collecting half eagles over a few decades to be
almost impossible...

collecting a sleepy series is tough because it is HARD. pick a real challenge..

or collect wheaties knowing you have plenty to choose from and can spend
away freely on millions of examples. >>



Bust halves were a sleepy series up until a few years ago, you could buy common date XF's for around $130 then but now they're closer to $275 to $300. There's 450 Overton varities in this series and buy problem free coins aren't as easy as one might think. I also collect Saints and Libs in AU50 to MS63 and presently have over 40 different dates and mint marks. I like gold but didn't want to buy just 1924's or 1904's.

As far as Lib half eagle go I have about 20 different date/MM of these also and I've been buying both $20 and $10 since 1999. I think there underrated too but your going to find just like the 80's the price of these will follow gold. I've alway been willing to pay a little more for semi-keys but in general I'm a collector all the way to gold over $1000 and then I'll have to think about it. There will be changes in the future to pick these up cheaper when gold drops jut like the 80's.....JMO

ziggy29

<< <i>Bust halves were a sleepy series up until a few years ago, you could buy common date XF's for around $130 then but now they're closer to $275 to $300. There's 450 Overton varities in this series and buy problem free coins aren't as easy as one might think. >>

As recently as 2-3 years ago you could get a nice slabbed AU-58 bust half for under $400.

ttown

<< <i>

<< <i>Bust halves were a sleepy series up until a few years ago, you could buy common date XF's for around $130 then but now they're closer to $275 to $300. There's 450 Overton varities in this series and buy problem free coins aren't as easy as one might think. >>

As recently as 2-3 years ago you could get a nice slabbed AU-58 bust half for under $400. >>



Yes they've been discovered and problem free pieces are getting attention. Now if I can just complete my graded set of Bust Quarters before the craze starts there I'm good. These are real hard to find and very low mintages and still over looked for what they are IMO.

mirabela

It's situational. In a series like Barber halves, you can sell such coins instantaneously. If you want to see how this works, conjure up a problem-free Fine 1913(P) or 1915(P) half -- good examples of the kind of thing you are talking about, I think -- put an ambitious price on it, list it somewhere with good exposure, and see if you still own it at the end of the day.

But yeah, as others have said, in a series like Liberty quarter eagles, forget it. I have sold coins with total graded populations of 100 or less for bid and taken two months to do it. They are just dead.

DeusExMachina

<< <i>I've always found that the sellers want a premium for these when selling, but want to buy them as common dates. >>




I think it depends on the series. If the series is short with 1 key date and 1-2 semis; those semis should do well. Indian head quater eagles come to mind with the '11 D as the key and '14 P as the semi. For liberty head quarter eagles, the logic just does not apply. It is a supply/demand issue. In the 1880s, quarter eagle mintages were tiny but not many collectors look to assemble this sub-set or the entire series. If demand is low, supply is less relevant.

ziggy29

<< <i>I think it depends on the series. If the series is short with 1 key date and 1-2 semis; those semis should do well. Indian head quater eagles come to mind with the '11 D as the key and '14 P as the semi. >>

True. The 1911-D quarter eagle is the '09-S VDB of gold, no doubt about it. They really aren't all that scarece, but as the key date of the only affordable gold series to complete, demand on it is very high, keeping prices very lofty relative to supply.

Whereas you could have a liberty quarter eagle with 1/10th the mintage and less than 1/10th the availability of the '11-D, and it won't be priced too much over type coin money. There are just too many stoppers -- and the series too long -- for many to collect by date and mint.

Elcontador

In a series which isn't overly popular, these coins are like accidents waiting to happen. Ie., in MS 66, roughly half of the Liberty Nickels fall into this category. Unless someone thinks they have a shot at an upgrade, these coins sit and grow moss on their north sides. No one wants to ante up the $4K or more to buy them.